You just haven't earned it yet, baby
by lindy hopper
Summary: Draco and Harry form unforgettable bond during Christmas Break. Read it. It'll be fun.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, whatever you want to call him, woke up to a buzzing sound next to his ear. It was his best friend, Ron's, Auto-Answer Quill. Hermione, girlfriend of Ron and mutual best friend of both Ron and Harry, got it for him upon making Head Boy for Gryffindor in their seventh year. He looked out the window and saw flurries of snow sticking to the window. He remembered what day it was - the beginning of winter holidays.

Usually the trio headed to Ron's for the holidays, but Ron's family was on holiday in Mallorca with his brother, Bill, and Bill's wife, Fleur. Hermione's parents were in South Africa, fulfilling a life-long dream of "running with the wild," as they put it in their letter. Harry had no family to go home to anyway, so here they were, stuck at Hogwarts for Christmas. Harry didn't mind because most of the kids went home, but Ron wouldn't let an hour go by without complaining about how his parents forgot about him and how his brothers were on an island surrounded by beautiful, gorgeous women wearing nothing but coconuts for bras, despite Hermione's reproachful looks whenever he mentioned these island goddesses.

"And what am I, Ron? A hideous sea creature?" She would come back with variations on this phrase and Ron would say, "No, honey! You're beautiful! You really are! Wait...are you mad? Come back!" At least Harry had constant entertainment for break.

This morning, though, something was different. He could just feel it. Maybe it was the cold and maybe it was the thought of all the cider that was going to be consumed by the end of these 3 short weeks. Maybe it was the thought of only having to spend one more year here. Maybe it was the thought that it really was his last Christmas here, at Hogwarts. Whatever it was, it gave him that same fuzzy feeling you get when you run down the stairs on Christmas morning to find that the biggest present under the tree has your name on it.

He smiled to himself and reached for his robe. Putting it on and making his way down the stairs at the same time, he walked into the common room to find Ron and Hermione snogging under the mistletoe and several onlooking second years, looking both intrigued and uncomfortable.

Harry cleared his throat and said, "Good morning guys," in the direction of the couple. They quickly broke apart, Ron looking like he just left a dream state, scolding Harry for waking him up in the best part. Hermione looked like a startled cat, her bushy brown hair was slightly more disheveled than usual as she tried patting it down with her hands.

"Harry, mate," Ron said. "Can't you see we were, you know, busy"

"Sorry Ron, but did you know you had an audience?" Harry replied motioning towards the rest of the common room. The still surprised Herimone looked in the direction of the second years as they either scurried away or busied themselves with something else very quickly.

Ron laughed as he put his arm around Hermione's shoulders and said, "Me and Hermione," he paused to look down at her and she at him. They smiled at each other as he continued, "got a little something for you. A...surprise if you will." He let go of her and walked towards the Gryffindor common room's Christmas tree, beautifully decorated with pearl inlayed ornaments, tinsel made of real silver and real gold, and a beautiful star on the top that shone with the brightness of the night sky on a clear night. He bent down, getting on his hands and knees, and looked for something, picking up different presents and looking at the tags.

"Ronald, it's on the left. No, your OTHER left. Ok good, now look in the back. Yes there. No. Right in front of you, dear. Yes THAT one."

He finally found it and handed it to Harry. Harry took the present and turned it over in his hands, noticing that the tape on the bottom was off-center and the bow was very lopsided. Ron had to have wrapped it.

"But guys," Harry started. "Christmas isn't for another week"

"Yes Harry, we know. But after defeating Voldemort," Ron cringed as Hermione continued, "We thought that we could give you one of your presents early," she finished.

"Yeah, mate, it was the least we could do." Ron added. "I mean, you saved the entire wizarding world"

Harry raised one of his eyebrows. "But, you guys were with me. You helped me loads! I couldn't have done it without you."

"Just open it already, willya?" Ron exclaimed. "I'm getting hungry and I wanna make it down to the Great Hall before all the Christmas sausage and bacon are gone"

Harry and Hermione laughed while Ron remained completely straight-faced, wondering what he said that was so funny. Harry again turned the present over, and sighed, starting to carefully take off the tape on the bottom of it. Ron looked on excitedly while Hermione looked anxious, massaging one hand with her other. Finally removing all the wrapping paper and ribbon and tape, Harry noticed that he was now holding an old notebook in his hand. He turned it around to the front and saw the words, "Harry Potter - Our Friend. By: Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley" He thumbed through the notebook and saw it was filled from front to back with Hermione's perfect hand writing.

"Ron and I have been working on this for about a year now. It's about all of us. Well, all three of us anyway," Hermione told Harry. Harry noticed a tear fall on the cover. It was his own.

"Oh God, Hermione," Ron looked at Harry and then to Hermione frantically. "He doesn't like it"

"Harry," Hermione said softly as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Harry's tears had turned into sobs and in between breaths, he told them, "This...is the best present I have ever received." Hermione looked sympathetic as she threw her arms around him. Ron awkwardly put his hand on Harry's shoulders, not knowing what else to do. "Thank you so much guys," Harry added.

"Oh Harry! You're welcome! You're so very, very welcome!" Hermione began to kiss the top of his head and his cheeks. "We were afraid you weren't going to like it"

"Oi! Harry! Get your hands of my girlfriend!" Ron exclaimed. Again, the two laughed while Ron remained confused. Hermione used the sleeve of her sweater to wipe the tears off Harry's face.

"Let's get downstairs shall we?" she suggested. "The breakfast before Christmas holidays is usually the best." Harry nodded and Ron sighed loudly, saying, "Finally." The three of them headed downstairs, Ron holding Hermione's hand and Harry holding the book. When he said it was the best present he ever received, he said it with all seriousness.

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Draco woke up to a buzzing sound next to his ear; it was Crabbe's Cornish Pixie. Crabbe, his dorm mate, had found it flying around the grounds back in their second year and he's had it ever since. He got up out of bed and made his way down to the common room. He saw a couple Slytherins down in the common room, mostly the older ones. All the younger ones were still in bed. It was still pretty early, but later than he usually woke up.

He yawned and made his way over to the couch, picking up a copy of the Daily Prophet. He noticed some eyes on him, but tried not to. Unfolding the Prophet, he saw on the front page, "Potter does it again! Escapes death and saves the World!" He snorted as he crumpled the paper and threw it into the fire. "Bloody Potter," he thought. "The Bleedin' Chosen One." He rolled his eyes at the thought of it and reclined on the couch, putting his arms behind his head.

He tried to close his eyes, but the common room portrait door swung open and he heard a gaggle of girls come in, head of them, Pansy Parkinson. Pansy was Draco's on-again off-again girlfriend for sometime now. She wasn't anything serious, but she was alright. Most Slytherin guys said she was "hot," but Draco didn't really see it. Yeah, maybe she was pretty, but nothing special. She was crazy about him and he knew it - usually playing that to his advantage. He sat up.

"Hey baby," she purred.

He looked up, but didn't say anything to her. She sat down on the couch next to him, playfully pulling at a loose thread on his robe. He could feel the rest of the girls' eyes burning a hole in his back and through the corner of his eye he saw Pansy mouthing something to them. He just rolled his eyes and propped his legs up on the coffee table. Pansy followed suit and the other girls left the common room, giggling.

"Darling, how come we don't talk anymore?" Pansy inquired.

"We talk," he said, simply.

"I know but," she sat up and sat cross legged on the couch, now facing him. "Usually it's with friends. I mean, we never talk when we're by ourselves"

"We're alone now," he said, still looking forward.

She looked around the common room. "Yeah," she reached for his hand. "I guess we are"

He finally looked at her and she looked into his eyes, biting her lip. He knew she wanted him to kiss her, but he didn't. She made a slight click with her tongue and entwined her fingers with his. His hand was limp. He wasn't really into it. She kept getting closer to him. He could feel her eyes on his. Closer still. He could feel her breath on his neck. Closer yet. She kissed his neck and was moving up to his lips. He still hadn't moved from his original position. "Pansy," was all he said.

She made no effort to hide her sigh of annoyance. "What?!" she snapped.

"I'm hungry." He got up, but as soon as he got up, she grabbed his wrist and started crying. Violent sobs were filling the common room and people were now staring at the couple. Draco rolled his eyes and sat back down.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a tinge of annoyance.

She looked at him, still crying. "You don't love me."

"Not this again," he said, picking at his fingernails.

"You don't even look at me!" she whined.

Draco kept his head down, but averted his eyes upward, towards her and raised his eyebrows. "I'm looking at you now. Happy?" No answer. He stood up once more and so did she. As he started walking toward the door, she ran after him and grabbed his wrist again. He stopped walking, but didn't turn around. Instead, he looked up at the ceiling, half-hoping the chandelier would fall on her so he wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Draco Malfoy!" she screamed.

He spun around, bemused. "But you weren't talking, darling." He smirked.

"Don't call me that! I hate you! I hate you Draco Malfoy! I hate you so much!" She was raising her voice to a record high. Some of the other Slytherins actually looked scared. Draco couldn't have looked more bored.

"But, Pansy, you _always_ hate me"

"But not like this Draco," he started coming closer towards him. She lowered her voice and repeated "I hate you"

"Okay," was all he said.

She was, evidently, not very happy with that so she started crying again, hitting his chest with her balled fists, screaming obscenities. He grabbed her wrists and held them tight, narrowing his eyes in on hers, his jaw tightning. She looked frightened. She immediately stopped crying, her eyes as wide as a house elf's. Draco held on even tighter and then suddenly let go. Her arms fell to her sides and she looked relieved. For a second, she thought that maybe he would forgive her, but then she felt a stinging burn across her face. Draco had never hit her before. They were both scared. She looked at him horrified, slowly stepping backwards. He looked at her and then at his hand. He raised his hand to his face so he could see it better. He could still see the red mark of her face from the slap. Her bottom lip was trembling and tears were now streaming down her face.


	2. Chapter 2

AN/// Ok...er..this is my first story. It _will_ be multi-chaptered, but if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, whatever, feel free to message me or something.

Draco finally made his down to the Great Hall about an hour late. Pansy, obviously not, by his side. Upon opening the main doors, he was greeted by hundreds of eyes on him and hushed whispers. Although this was the first day of Christmas Holidays, things were already going badly and there were still a lot of students left. They wouldn't be leaving until later on in the day. Everyone sat together for their last breakfast together - that is until after the New Year.

He looked to his left and to his right, but his eyes fell on the Slytherin table. He walked over to the table to find Pansy, eyes still red from crying, being consoled by her friends. There was still a trace of red on her face. He sat down next to her, at this moment hoping that she would just forget what happened in the common room and throw her arms around him.

As soon as he sat down, a hush fell over the table. Even his closest friends, Crabbe and Goyle, refused to look him in the eye. Draco could again feel his jaw tightning, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red. He breathed a heavy sigh and grabbed a roll. Everyone surrounding him just watched his every move, probably afraid that he would hit them too. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Pansy slowing scooting farther and farther away from him and closer to her friend.

He knew that no one would ever defy him though. Everyone was too afraid of him to begin with. This was getting unbearable. The uncomfortable silence at the table was something he couldn't handle. He stood up, grabbing his roll, and said quite low, "I wasn't actually very hungry to begin with."

No one wished him farewell, but instead just watched him walk away. He wasn't really expecting the treatment actually. He actually thought that Pansy would just forget about it, the way she forgot about everything else he did to her. He would call her names all the time, half-joking of course, but she usually just laughed it off. So, what was the big deal this time? There really wasn't a difference at all.

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Harry, Hermione, and Ron made it downstairs to the Great Hall to find it packed with students, students' trunks, and their pets. They managed to find seats at the table, but Harry was stuck somewhere between The Parvati's trunks and some first year who seemed to be nearly sitting on top of him. Ron and Hermione, of course, squeezed in next to each other across from Harry. Everyone was hugging everybody goodbye and exchanging addresses. It was almost as if they would never see each other again. Eating proved impossible. With all the excitement, there was food getting knocked all over the place.

Much to Ron's disappointment, it was decided that they would come back down after everyone left. Before leaving, Harry surveyed the Great Hall one last time and noticed that everyone seemed to be partaking in the festivities except for the Slytherin table. Slytherins never seemed to show emotions of any sort it seemed to him. They were all cold-hearted, callous, jerks. He also noticed that they all seemed to be staring at one person in particular - Draco Malfoy.

Draco looked uncomfortable. Scared even. Harry thought it strange that Draco Malfoy would be scared of anyone from his own house. He practically owned the house. Harry didn't feel bad or anything, nothing of the sort; Malfoy had been such a bastard to him from the moment he stepped foot inside the castle and there was a rivalry between the two stronger than that between the houses.

"Harry," a voice interrupted his thoughts. It was Hermione's. "Come on. We're going upstairs, right"

"Yeah. Sorry," he apologized. "I was just noticing something," he added as he looked one more time at the Slytherin table, devoid of fun of any kind.

Hermione followed Harry's glance and gave him a questioning glance although he didn't notice. "It almost makes you feel bad for them doesn't it?" Harry laughed, more to himself,

"Almost."

Ron was tugging at Hermione's sleeve. "C'mon!" he whined. "Let's go! I'm so hungry and you're just going to loiter here around all this delicious food"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine," she snapped. "Let's go then." She grabbed Harry's wrist and with an extremely forceful tug, she pulled him out of the Great Hall and into the main entrance where it was much quieter.

No one said anything as they all headed up the stairs to the common room. Ron was the one, as usual, to break the silence. "Well, that was a waste of time." Neither Harry or Hermione answered him or questioned him. Hermione kept walking, briskly, with her robes trailing behind her. Harry kept a steady pace, his eyes focused on his untied shoe. They finally reached the Fat Lady's portrait and heard Hermione, from a few feet away, say the password, "wattlebird." Before swinging open though, the Fat Lady gave the three of them an inquiring look and sighed as dramatically as possible.

The three of them scrambled inside the common room and found Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister and Harry's girlfriend, playing a game of Wizard Chess with Neville Longbottom, fellow Gryffindor and close friend of Ginny. She didn't notice Harry walk in, but Harry and Ron certainly noticed her.

"Ginny?!" they both exclaimed. She snapped her head back and her eyes lit up as she jumped up, nearly knocking over the chess board, much to Neville's annoyance. She ran over to the three of them and jumped on Harry, throwing her arms around his neck, wrapping her legs around his waist, and kissing his face blindly. Neville eyed Harry and Ginny was a look of contempt as he bent over to pick up the pawns and the rook that fell on the floor. Everybody knew that Neville had a thing for Ginny ever since he took her to the Yule Ball in their 4th year.

"Ginny!" Ron repeated. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Mallorca with Mum and Dad"

She giggled as she jumped off Harry and replied, "I know, but I got out of it because I said I'd miss you guys too much," jabbing Ron slightly in the stomach with her finger. Turning to Harry she said, "Of course, I'd miss you most of all," kissing the tip of his nose as he scrunched it up.

Hermione laughed and she looked at Ron wistfully. He seemed to have missed it, but stepped behind Hermione anyway and slipped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. She must have appreciated it because she, too, turned her head around, arching her neck, and kissed the tip of his nose.

"Excuse me, Ginny?" Neville broke in. "Soory to break up this touching scene and everything, but are we going to finish the game or not?" he asked with a hint of aggravation.

"Oh, Neville!" she replied. "Is that all you think of? Silly games?"

His face turned red at this comment and he answered her. "No, I just thouht that...maybe...nevermind." He turned his face away from the four and began putting his chess peices away quietly and bashfully.

Ginny sighed and flounced over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder, saying, "We'll play later. I promise." He nodded and quickly glanced at Harry Potter who until then had been sitting on the arm of the sofa in front of the fireplace.


	3. Chapter 3

AN// SPOILER ALERT!! Someone reminded me that Crabbe died so...I'm going kill him off. I completely forgot about that. Thank you so much SpazzyNinjaSpork for catching that. That was a major brainfart on my part and a pretty big plot hole in general - although I always found Crabbe to be insignificant and annoying, but enough rambling.  
Long(er) chapter.

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Once he was back in the common room, Draco noticed he was alone. No one else. Everyone else was upstairs saying their goodbye's. He rolled his eyes at the thought and walked over to one of the tables behind the partition, in front of the newly frosted windows. The sun was peaking in through the window and was resting on something shiny. It was giving off an odd sort of iridescent light and it seemed as if he was being drawn to it.

He walked over to where it was, next to the table, carefully hidden behind a broken tile on the ancient crown molding.

He looked around once more, making sure no one was there, and bent down, in a sort a squatting position. He removed the tile and picked up what appeared to be a sort of locket. He turned it over in his hand, pieces of plaster falling to the ground and onto his black robes.

He replaced the tile, stood back up, dusted himself off, and kicked some of the plaster under the table so no one would see that their secret hiding place was tampered with.

_What is this_, he thought_. Some kind of necklace._ He tried opening it, but it seemed to be shut tight. He furrowed his brow as he attempted opening it again. Nothing happened. _Stupid necklace_, he frowned lying it, face up, on the table in front of him. He reached in his pocket and withdrew his hand, letting the tip of it touch the center of the necklace. "Alohamora," he said under his breath. The necklace rattled a bit, but other than that, nothing spectacular.

He groaned in frustration, but heard the door open and he quickly stuffed the locket in his pocket, pointing his wand at the new intruder.

"Who's there?" he shouted, slowly coming out from behind the partition.

"Dr-draco?" a voice trembled.

"Yes?" he answered. "Who is it?"

"This is...G-Goyle." he responded.

Draco sighed more out of bother than anything else. "Well, come in."

"Dr-draco," he repeated.

"What?!" Draco snapped.

"Crabbe's dead." He put it rather bluntly.

"Excuuuse me?" Draco snapped his head toward him, looking him squarely in the eye. "He's dead? As in gone?"

"Y-yes. Choked on a roll this morning. I-I-I C-couldn't save him," Goyle explained.

Draco looked away. "Shame. Bloody shame," was his only response. "Well, I never really liked him anyway. Thank you for that."

"Er...you're welcome, Dr-draco." He was about to turn around and leave, but added, "There's something else."

"Hmm?" Draco wasn't paying him attention and was now fingering his new locket that was now in his pocket.

"Pansy's here. She wants to apologize she says."

Draco groaned at the mention of her name. "Well, send her in." Goyle turned around and Draco walked over to the sofa and laid himself down, waiting for her to come in.

He heard an exchange of voices outside, one, most likely Pansy's, chastising the other. After a few more moments of this, Pansy gingerly walked in and stood behind the sofa, standing over Draco, but not saying anything.

They were staring at each other in silence, but Draco nodded toward one of the adjacent chairs, motioning for her to sit down. She nodded back as if she understood. She closed her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. She slowly, but deliberately walked over to the chair, muttering something, almost mechanically, under her breath.

Still, no one said anything. The tension was so thick, it was a wonder that the fire in the fireplace wasn't snuffed out.

And then, suddenly, without any warning, Pansy ran over to the couch, Draco immediately sitting upright, afraid she would hex him into oblivion, and fell onto her knees in front of him.

"For Merlin's sake, Pansy!" He shouted, letting out a giant sigh that had built up in the brief two second fright he had just encountered. "What was that?"

Again, she began to cry and took both of Draco's hands which were lying loosely on either side of him and began to kiss them. "Pansy. Stop." he tried to get her off of him, but she wouldn't allow it. She finally stopped and looked at him in the eyes, her's gleaming with wetness. He got his hands loose and wiped the tears from one side of her face with his thumb. "Why are you doing this?"

She didn't answer right away, but instead got up to her feet and started pacing the length of the sofa. "Because, Draco, darling! I love you!" She paused and looked at him to see his reaction.

"Yes, I know," he replied, reclining once again, his eyes on the ceiling.

"And you know that I'll always come back to you?"

"Unfortunately," he said under his breath, but she didn't hear him.

"What was that, dear?"

"I said, yes, I know." He closed his eyes.

"Well, Draco." She sat back down.

"Well, Pansy?"

"Do you love me?" she asked rather straight-forward.

He was slightly taken aback by this question and didn't quite know how to answer it. He supposed it was best to be honest, but he didn't want the poor girl to jump off the astronomy tower. At the same time, though, he didn't want her back. He never wanted her back. She was like the herpes of Hogwarts - she never went away.

"No," he replied after some time. "I don't think I do."

She bit her lip and, almost as she had been expecting him to say this, said, "Ok." She stood up and walked over to him, kissing him on the forehead, before turning around and began walking, toward the door.

Draco opened her eyes just to see her back as she was walking away. She wasn't very far, but he felt the need to shout. "Pansy!"

"Hmm?" She stopped walking, but did not turn around.

"Is that it?"

"Yes, Draco," her voice cracked upon saying his name. "That's it."

He, too, stood up, but didn't walk over to her. "Thank you," he said, rather softly, considering the given situation.

She nodded, but he could only see the back of her head. This time, she actually left and Draco was left standing there, wondering what just happened.

The thought of the locket was still looming in his mind and he felt mildly bad for the thoughts of the locket taking precedent over the dramatic break-up scene that had just happened moments ago.

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In the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry was resting his head in Ginny's lap while she was stroking his bangs and flattening them again on his forehead. Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and even Neville, were sitting on the floor of the Common Room in a circle, seeing as how Seamus Finnegan and some fellow Gryffindor girl were taking up the entire sofa, clearly enjoying the Christmas holidays and embracing the romantic feelings it brought on, not to mention embracing each other.

Both Hermione and Ginny scrunched up their faces upon seeing this. Ron seemed to be eyeing him with both envy and incredulity. Neville, Harry noticed, had ever so innocently placed his hand very, very close to Ginny's foot. She didn't have her shoes on; she had kicked them off earlier. She even took off her socks, and all that was left were perfect, milky, white feet with ten perfect, little toenails, painted red and green in alternating colors to get in to the Christmas spirit. Seeing as how she was sitting with her legs crossed and had Harry's head in her lap, Neville's hand was also very close to Harry's ear.

Neville noticed Harry's eyes on his hand and he quickly withdrew it, placing it in his own lap. He, too, was sitting with his legs crossed and he seemed to be mirroring Ginny's movements, save for the boy in her lap. Whether it was sub-conscious or not, Harry did not know.

Ron had been trying to entertain the group with a series of spells he seemed to have made up himself. One of which left half of Hermione's eyebrows a shocking pink. Although annoyed as she must have been, she laughed it off, and just fixed it with one of her own spells. Everybody seemed to be in a good, light-hearted mood. Neville was even starting to perk up.

"Oh, Harry," Ginny said quietly, looking down, so that only he could hear her. "I hope it's like this when we're married..."

Harry raised his head a little. "Married?" She nodded. "But, Ginny, you're sixteen! How can you be thinking of such a thing already?"

She looked surprised and slightly hurt, but Harry had the sneaking suspicion that Neville was listening as he could feel his steady gaze hovering over the two of them. Ron and Hermione weren't paying them any attention as Hermione seemed to be lecturing Ron on the dangers of Non-Ministry Approved spells.

"But, Harry," Ginny continued. "We _are_ going to get married. Aren't we?" She raised one of her eyebrows and waited for his answer.

He was very careful with the words he chose. He didn't want them to come out wrong and have her hate him forever. Sure, he liked spending time with Ginny, but marrying her would probably take all the fun of their relationship. Ginny had always been a close friend to Harry. Someone he could always mess about with and just hang out with. She was like a sister to him.

And then it hit him. He didn't love her. Well, not like that anyway. She was just like a sister to him - just like Hermione was. _Oh God,_ he thought. He raised his hand to his forehead and sat up straight. "Er...Ginny. I suppose we will, you know, maybe get married some day, but do you think right now is really a good time to talk about it?" he asked, glancing sideways at Ron and Hermione and finally to Neville, who had been sitting with his hands in his lap staring at a spot on the rug in front of him.

Her eyes narrowed in on him and once again, she raised one of her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean? Some day?"

Harry nervously wiped his hands on his jeans and said, "It's just...you know...I don't know if we should, you know, think about that."

"Why not?" she hissed.

He looked at Neville who, now seemed to be very intently staring at Ginny, desirously. She was completely unaware, as her eyes were fixed on the emerald pools of bright green that were Harry's. "Ginny, please," he pleaded. "Later?" he looked at Ron and Hermione again who seemed to be noticing that Ginny and Harry for the first time.

Ginny grasped Harry's hand and squeezed it. "Ok," she replied as she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Neville visibly cringed and Ron looked at him. Neville played it off like there was a spider on his shoulder.

"S-Spider?" Ron repeated.

"Er...yeah..." said Neville waveringly. "But," he added. "It's gone now. I think I've killed it." Neville looked at Ginny for some sort of affirmation, but she hadn't heard a word of the exchange between Neville and her brother. Harry was back in her lap and she was back to stroking his hair.

Ron sighed a sigh of relief. "Whew! Good," he said as his stomach made a grumble noise which made Hermione giggle and Ron turn red.

"Come on," she said as she stood up, extending her hand down to Ron. "Let's go get something to eat."

Ron grabbed her hand and jumped up, running towards the door. Hermione stayed behind. "Er...are you guys coming too?" she asked Ginny and Harry.

They both agreed and stood up, Harry dusting himself off. Neville stood up, rocking on both his feet said, "Right, well I just...er...stay here then."

Ginny's eyes widened as she took one step closer to him. "Neville!" she exclaimed. "I totally forgot you were here!" His cheeks turned a deep shade of red as he looked down bashfully. Quickly, she added, "You were so quiet! Quiet as a mouse!"

Ron was still waiting by the door, tapping his foot with his arms crossed. Ginny glanced over her shoulder at him and the turned back around grabbing Neville's wrist, pulling him along. "C'mon! You'll sit by me!" Neville's frown turned into a huge grin that seemed to be plastered across his face. The five of them headed downstairs for a second time.


	4. Chapter 4

Later that evening, Ron and Hermione told Harry they were going to go for a walk on the Hogwarts ground and asked if he wanted to come with them. Harry thought that they didn't really want him there, but merely asked out of common courtesy. He shook his head. "No, you guys go ahead. I'll stay here."

Hermione frowned a bit, but it quickly turned into a wide grin. She grabbed Ron's hand and said, "Ok then! Don't wait up for us!" before flouncing out of the common room. Neville was nowhere to be seen. After breakfast, he sort of vanished. Harry didn't really mind though, because although he liked Neville, he hadn't really been himself lately. Harry was sitting on the sofa, reclining, looking at the ceiling. Ginny was on the other side of the common room, talking to one of her other friends in a hurried, hushed whisper.

Harry couldn't place whether she was mad at him for what he said earlier or if she actually just wanted to talk to her friends. Moments later, it seemed, she sat on the edge of the sofa, quite close to where his waist was.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," she sighed. He didn't respond, but instead continued to look at the ceiling. She leaned over him and placed her hand on his cheek. When she touched him, a shiver went down his spine. Not a shiver of attraction, but rather fear. His heart started beating rapidly, he shut his eyes, he clenched his fists, and was breathing heavily.

She furrowed her brows. "Harry?" she asked, her hand still on his cheek. He sat up quickly and scooted back, away from her. Her hand fell on his leg and he was eyeing it with mild distaste.

"Harry, are you okay? You look...pale."

Still breathing heavily, he answered, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just...I think I'm just tired." He didn't lay back down, but instead sat upright, facing forward, his feet on the ground.

"Oh, well I've been doing a lot of thinking. You know, about what you said earlier?" She looked at him, hoping for a reaction. She didn't get one and she thought that maybe he just felt guilty. "Well," she continued. "I think maybe you're right." He finally looked up at her. "Maybe we shouldn't think about it...now. We can wait a year or so, can't we?"

There it was again. The rapid heartbeat, the clenched fists. "No," he said quietly. It was barely audible over the embers cracking in the fireplace.

"What was that, Harry?"

"No," he repeated louder. "No!" he repeated yet again, standing up this time and shouting it. She looked frightened as she grabbed onto his wrist trying to get him to sit back down again and not draw so much attention to them. He sat down, but he did not lower his voice. "Ginny, why don't you get it?" She tried shushing him, but he didn't stop. "I don't want to marry you! I don't even think I wanna get married at all! Why keep harping on about it? What don't you get? That I don't love--"

He stopped abruptly, realizing what he had just said. Her eyes widened and he saw a stream of tears begin to steadily flow down her cheek. Several other students were looking on, horrified and appalled at his behavior. He, too, felt disgusted at how he just acted. "Ginny," he said softly. "I didn't mean that."

She was refusing to look at him, wiping her tears with her sleeve. He tried placing his hand on her knee, but she moved it before he could. "I knew it all along," she said quietly. "All along," she repeated.

"Excuse me?" he spat. "Knew what exactly?!"

"Oh, don't play stupid with me, _Potter_!" she exclaimed, exaggerating the last word.

"Knew what?!" he repeated.

"That you never loved me!" Everyone that was in the common room turned around and were now staring at him as his cheeks flushed red. Ginny covered her face with her hands, bawling. Harry's eyes were bigger than he ever thought they could be.

"What? I'm not...not..." He had trouble finishing the sentence and instead whispered it, so only she could hear. "That isn't true, Ginny. I _do_. It's just --"

"Oh please, Harry. I've known for years!" He was shaking his head, but she kept going. "I see the way Ron looks at Hermione. You've never looked at me like that! When you touch me, it's like you don't even see I'm there. When you kiss me, it's like you don't even notice me and you know what, Harry? It's hurts! More than you will ever know!"

"That's not true."

"Yes, Harry, it is. It's all very true indeed. As much as you deny it, it's true."

"You're not making any sense Ginny."

"Yes I am! And you know I'm right!"

He shook his head again and stood up. "This is ridiculous. I'm going to bed. I'll talk to you in the morning." He turned around to go to the boys dorms, but Ginny jumped up and ran in front of him, blocking his path.

"Oh, no you don't, Harry James Potter. You're going to stay here until I'm through with you!"

"Ginny," he pleaded. "Please don't do this."

Her eyes softened, as did her facial features. Almost as if Harry had been some sort of injured baby bird, she stopped. She lowered her arms and her eyes glistened with tears again. She also lowered her head and wrapped her arms around his waist. He raised an eyebrow, not quite knowing what to make of this,but she didn't see him. He didn't put his arms around her, but he didn't try to get away from her either. "Harry, I love you."

"I know." His palms were getting sweaty and he wiped them on his jeans, but her grip around him tightened. He was still awkwardly standing there with his hands at his waist while she kept holding on. Every second felt like an hour. He felt claustrophobic.

"Say it," she pleaded, looking up at him. Harry didn't notice that she was still crying. Her cheeks were sticky and his sweater had a slight wet spot.

"Say what, Ginny?" he asked, trying to remove himself, just a little, from her constricting hold.

"Say that you love me."

He took a sharp intake of breath and slowly, but deliberately, let it out. After a short pause, he said, "I can't do that."

"Yes you can. It's easy. Just lie to me. Act like you love me." She burrowed her head in his sweater again.

He closed his eyes and a voice, barely audible, he said, "I love," His voice cracked, but he finished. "You."

He'd been saying it for months and months, but this time it felt different. It felt tainted.

She nodded and looked back at him. "I love you too." She smiled weakly and pecked him on the cheek. "You should get some sleep, honey." And with that, she turned around, slowly, and made her way up to the girl's dorms in a haze.

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Draco spent a good deal of the night trying to figure out just how to open his newly discovered locket. It was a time he seriously wished he'd had his Hand of Glory with him - a dark arts object that gave light inly to it's user, but of course that was gone, just like everything belonging to him and his father that had been left at the Manor. He sat at a desk in his dorm saying, "Lumos" every so often under his breath as the light that his wand was giving off would fade and flicker off.

He shared the room with Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise Zabini. With Crabbe dying ever so suddenly, he just had to worry about bothering Goyle, which he didn't really care about anyway. Zabini was in Italy with his parents for the holidays. _Too bad_, Draco thought._ He had nice arms_. Draco frowned at his thought, but shook it off as he continued to work on unlocking the secret of this locket. His arm was getting sore from holding the wand so long.

He looked back over his shoulder, to see Goyle sleeping like a rock, with the covers pulled over him, covering his head. All he could see was a tuft of hair poking out by the headboard of the bed. He sighed. It was getting late; it was nearly three in the morning, and it looked like he was nowhere closer than when he picked it up in the first place. He placed the locket over his head, putting it around his neck, and tucking it in under his shirt. The chain was thick enough so he didn't look like a complete poof.

But as soon as the necklace touched his skin, a shiver went down his spine. Not a shiver of attraction, but rather fear. His heart started beating rapidly, he shut his eyes, he clenched his fists, and was breathing heavily. Harry's face flashed before his own. He was with that Weasley girl.

That was it. Just a quick flash and he was back to normal, back in his dorm, staring down at the darkness of the desk. His wand had extinguished and was lying next to him.

_What the bloody hell was that?!_ he thought to himself. _What is this thing anyway? _He held the locket that was around his neck and rubbed it with his thumb, as if that would solve everything.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose because he could feel a headache coming on. He groaned, out of both frustration and exhaustion, and got up, stumbling on his way over to his bed.

"Bloody Hell!" he exclaimed. Pain shot all through his body. He had stubbed his toe on Goyle's oversized shoes that resembled a refridgerator. He picked up the shoe and threw it towards Goyle's bed, narrowly missing him. If it weren't for it being dark, he would've hit him dead on. Goyle was still tucked under his covers and didn't notice anything.

Draco finally found his way to his bed. Pulling back the covers, he crawled in and quickly fell asleep.

_There was a boy standing in an empty classroom. A friend? Draco walked up behind him and whispered something in his ear. A shiver went up the boy's spine and his heart started beating faster, but he didn't turn around. Draco tugged at the boy's shirt and the boy nodded, lifting up his arms. Draco helped the boy pull off his shirt, messing up his jet black untidy hair. Once the shirt was off, Draco, again, reached the boy's neck, slowly, but deliberately kissing it. Each kiss leaving a lasting impression. The boy moaned and Draco grabbed him by the shoulders; he wanted to see him. He spun him around and pushed him against the wall, but his face was familiar. He squinted his eyes a little bit and saw clearly who it was. Harry Potter._

Draco woke up startled, breathing heavily, drenched in sweat. He looked around the room, but it was still dark. Not even an hour could've gone by before he had first fallen asleep until the time when he had that...that...nightmare. He glanced at Goyle. Still asleep. _What'd I expect?_ he thought to himself.

He let out a muffled yawn and lay back down. He didn't fall asleep right away, but rather let his dream play back over and over in his head. As disgusting as it made him feel, it gave him a sort of comforted feeling. He thought back to his break up that he had with Pansy earlier. It wasn't like all the other times they "broke up." This time it was real. This time it was over. He felt the corner of his mouth curve into a smile.

After some tossing and turning, Draco did manage to fall asleep,dreaming of nothing but dirty, dirty dreams of Harry Potter which he was strangely okay with now.


	5. Chapter 5

AN// I love how sometimes I can spout these out like Mrs. Weasley has children and other times I'm just, Hmmm...no.

This is going to be so annoying when school starts again.

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Draco woke up later than usual the next morning. He groaned as he turned to his side. Goyle wasn't in bed anymore. _It's about time too. He's probably moving in on Pansy now than I'm out of the picture._ Draco laughed to himself at the thought of that. He sat up and rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out. He yawned once more and stretched out his arms in one big, exaggerated sweeping motion.

As soon as he put his feet on the ground, his body was overcome with the cold. He scolded himself inwardly for taking his shirt off last night in bed, but he was really hot _at the time_. He hopped off the bed and tip-toed his way to the common room, not wanting to have to face the cold any more than he had to.

Once downstairs, the warmth from the fire enveloped his body like a much needed hug. No one was down in the common room. _Probably all at breakfast._ He dreaded having to go down to breakfast because of all the bridges he burnt earlier. But maybe, just maybe, Pansy wasn't bitter. Maybe there was no one there anyway. Maybe he could just go down really quickly and pick something up and bring it back upstairs. His stomach made a loud groan and he could suddenly feel how empty he was. It didn't look like he had much of a choice in the matter anyway.

Shortly after making his way to the bathroom and washing up and getting ready and everything else he needed to do, he made his way downstairs. Once down there, he saw that there weren't many people anyway. At most, there were probably 100 people. He looked over at the Slytherin table and saw no one he recognized except Pansy. _Oh, great._ She was sitting by herself, but he still had to muster up some courage to go over there.

He cleared his throat and quietly said, "Hey," not bothering to look up at her.

"Hey," she said back, just picking at her oatmeal that she hadn't bothered to try and eat anyway.

"Is it...alright...if I sit here?" Draco asked her.

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Sure," she replied indifferently.

Draco mumbled a thanks and sat down. They didn't say anything to each other, but kept eating with their heads down. Once or twice, he thought he heard a sniffle, but decided to ignore it. He looked up once, keeping his head down and just his eyes up. What he saw shocked him more than the time the Ministry came into their Manor over the summer and arrested his father. It was Harry Potter.

It was the same feeling you get after a one night stand. It feels really great at the time, but it's not like you really want to see them or hear from them again. It's not they actually had sex or anything though, so the circumstances were slightly different. And Harry had no idea that Draco was having dream about boinking him.

Harry was at the Gryffindor table with that Weasley girl, her brother, and his girlfriend, Granger. It felt like someone had temporarily knocked all the air out of him. He was shamelessly staring at Harry with his mouth wide open. He felt his entire body stiffen along with something else. His eyes grew as wide as saucers as he looked down. He tried to shift his legs as to not give it away.

He looked up again and saw the Weasley girl fawning and doting over Harry, moving the hair from his face, laughing and joking around, giggling like a sick schoolgirl along with that mudblood, Granger. He felt his hands form into fists and he clenched his jaw. He didn't understand why he was getting so upset. He'd hated Harry ever since they stepped off the train and into the castle in their first year, but now he's having dreams about...nevermind.

Thank Merlin, Pansy wasn't looking up at him or talking to him. He tried looking down, but his eyes wouldn't stay there. They kept shooting back up to stare at "The Chosen One." It was the weirdest feeling. Yesterday, he would've sen him and wanted to punch him in the face, break his glasses, hex him into oblivion, _kiss him._ Kiss him? _No way,_ he told himself. Harry Bleedin' Potter could just...drop off the face of the earth. He didn't care.

"Oh God," Draco said under his breath.

"Hm?" replied Pansy.

Startled, Draco looked at Pansy who had been staring at him. For how long, he did not know, but when he brought his attention back to her, she gave him a really strange look and glanced over her shoulder at Harry. "What?" she asked when she looked back at Draco.

"Er...nothing," he lied. "I just really...hate him."

She didn't say anything, but instead looked back down at her oatmeal and nodded her head as if to say, "Me too." Draco sighed and looked back over at the Gryffindor table. Harry caught Draco staring, said something to Weasel-bee and they were both staring back at him. His face turned red and he could feel his entire body get hot with embarrassment. He quickly looked down at his own oatmeal, hoping that they would just turn around again.

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Harry woke up a little later than usual the next morning. He groaned as he turned to his side. Ron wasn't in bed anymore. _He must be down in the common room with Hermione already,_ Harry laughed to himself as he thought about it. He sat up and rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out. He yawned once more and stretched out his arms in one big, exaggerated sweeping motion.

Harry blindly fumbled for his glasses on the bed side table. He put them on and instantly everything came into focus. He found the slippers by his bed that Mrs. Weasley had given him a couple years back and slipped his feet into them. Sure, they were a bit small now, but they were so warm and comfortable, he never thought of getting rid of them.

When Harry came downstairs, he saw Hermione and Ron sitting on the couch, holding hands, and talking in whispers to each other. Ginny was sitting in a chair, staring at them with her arms crossed. She wasn't saying anything and she didn't hear Harry come in either. Ron and Hermione were so deeply consumed in their conversation that he was sure they wouldn't hear anything.

Harry really liked Ron and Hermione, but ever since they became a "couple," it was so different. It was like they morphed into one super person who had no time for anyone else, because they didn't need to. Harry was always a bit jealous of them for that. He never felt like that with Ginny; she was always nagging him. It wasn't like that with Cho either or any of the girls he dated - which hadn't been many.

He never could find one that he liked long enough to date for a prolonged amount of time. The only reason he was with Ginny for so long was because it was convenient and because he couldn't break it off with his best friend's sister. That would just be tactless.

He wondered if Ginny had told Ron about what happened between them last night. Odds were no because Ron probably would've killed him in his sleep and seeing as how he was still here, he probably didn't know.

Harry walked a little closer to where everyone else was. He was trying to be as quiet a possible, but the floorboard under him creaked and Ginny's head shot back towards him. Again, Ron and Hermione were completely oblivious to everything. She got up out of the chair and for a second, he was unsure how to act after last night's uncomfortable experience. He thought she was getting up to strangle him.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed. She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. She pulled him into a weak hug and said, "They," pointing at Ron and Hermione, "have been at it all morning. It's getting unbearable." She laughed and Harry laughed too, albeit an awkward one.

He was really confused. Had she decided to forget what happened? Pretend it never happened?

"Harry, I was wondering if you wanted to help me pull them off each other so we can go downstairs to breakfast?" Ginny laughed.

Harry looked at her, but didn't say anything. He furrowed his brow and nodded. "I just...have to get ready."

She also nodded, still smiling, and pecked him on the cheek. "Ok, do you want us to meet you downstairs?"

Harry turned around and rolled his eyes. "No, I'll be right down," he said before walking up the stairs back to the dorms.

He came back downstairs about 15 minutes later and Ron and Hermione had finally been pulled off each other and were now standing up, waiting for him. Ginny was standing in between them.

They headed downstairs, but no one was saying anything. Harry didn't know if it was because Ginny mentioned anything in the 15 minutes he was gone or just because there was nothing to say. He was hoping for the latter.

Once finally downstairs, Harry noticed that there really wasn't that many people there. There had to be 100 people at the most. Finding a seat wasn't very hard to do. After some time, conversation came easily again. Much to Hermione's chagrin, the other three were in a heated argument about Quidditch and whether the Chudley Cannons stand a chance against the Holyhead Harpies this season.

Harry was having a great time, but Ginny kept brushing the hair from his face. She kept saying it was "unkempt." He was trying his best not to say anything to her, for the sake of not getting the stuffing kicked out of him by Ron. Ron _was _getting a bit more fit with all the extra Quidditch practices that the team had.

Other than that, it was just like the way it had been in all the past years. Harry was so happy to have Ron back, but he couldn't help but feel like someone was watching him. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. Of course, he was getting used to it because of all that the Daily Prophet had to say about him all the time. He looked up after a while and saw Draco Malfoy staring right back at him from the Slytherin table. _Oh great, what does _he _want?_ Harry thought to himself.

"Hey, Ron," Harry interrupted.

Slightly annoyed, Ron answered back, "Yes?"

Harry leaned across the table a little bit so Ginny wouldn't hear him. It probably didn't matter anyway, seeing as how she had now moved off the topic of Quidditch and was now talking to Hermione about what appeared to be him. As they kept shooting furtive glances in his direction, Harry leaned in and said, "Malfoy keeps looking over here. What do you reckon he wants?"

Ron looked over his shoulder at Draco who's face turned a bright red. Draco looked quickly looked down. Ron turned back around and laughed. "Well, Harry, I reckon he likes you," he said jokingly.

"Ron! That's disgusting!" Harry exclaimed as he reached over the table and hit him. But at the same moment, a flash of Draco pinning Harry against the wall of an empty classroom came into view. His heart was racing and his palms were sweaty.

"Harry?" Ron asked.

Harry looked up at him, wiping his hands on his jeans. "What?!"

Ron looked taken aback, but not necessarily offended. "You okay, mate?"

"I'm fine!" Harry snapped. "Perfect!"

"...Ok then."

Harry stood up, gathered his things and said, "I have to...go to the library." Ron gave him a quizzical look and Ginny had just joined back into the conversation.

"But, Harry, dear, it's Christmas break!"

Harry's mind was racing. "Er...yeah, I forgot something though. An essay I need to write."

Ron stood up too. "We didn't have any essays to write."

Hermione, still sitting, looked up at him. "Harry, did you not do that Transfiguration essay?" She sighed and stood up as well. "I can help you if you want."

"No!" He shouted. He lowered his voice and added, "I mean, no thank you. Look, I really have to go."

Ginny and Hermione exchanged questioning glances. "...Ok."

Ron sat back down with a snarl on his face. "Well, go on then!" He waved his hand in the direction of the doors.

Harry's jaw tightened, but he didn't say anything else. He spun around on his heel and left, running in the direction of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. _No one ever goes in there._

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	6. Chapter 6

Hey, so I haven't updated in like...several months. That was because I was in Deutschland, but not anymore! I'm also really lazy. So...you guys should read this. It's really short, but the next one will most likely be longer. Probably. No further comments. Oh, and uh...reviews are nice.

Just sayin'

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As soon as Harry left the Great Hall, he ran into Neville. He was coming down the staircase with his head down. Harry was almost glad to see him, but noticed that Neville, too, looked a bit...morose. 

"Neville? Where've you been? We've all been wondering where you ran off to."

Neville didn't answer, but instead stopped where he was, looking at Harry up and down.

"Neville?" Harry took a step toward him. "Are you okay?"

Neville remained where he was, but asked, "Where's Ginny?"

Harry was slightly taken aback by this question, but answered it anyway. "She's in there," he replied, motioning toward the Great Hall. "She's getting on my nerves." Harry rolled his eyes and looked back at Neville to find him staring back with a look of contempt.

"Well, why are you going out with her, then? It seems as if she's always getting on your nerves."

Again, Harry was surprised. He never knew Neville to be so prying. "Well, I don't know. At first, it was easy, I guess." Neville wouldn't look away. Harry continued, "But once we started going out, I realized I made a huge mistake and now it feels as if all I'm doing now is trying to find a way to end it."

Neville took a step toward Harry and asked, "How could you do that to her?" He took another step. "She's beautiful, smart, funny...perfect." Another step. "You're an asshole, Potter. You're probably a faggot anyway." Neville took his final step toward Harry and punched him in the face. Harry fell to the ground, his hand covered in blood. Blood was dripping down his face and down his arm. Surprised that Neville would ever do anything like this, he looked up, but saw a blurry, round mass that just resembled Neville. It seemed that in addition to the blow to Harry's face, Neville also knocked his glasses off. As he was feeling around for them, he heard Neville's nasaly voice again.

"What are _you _doing here, Malfoy?"

Harry found his glasses in time to push them back on his face and see a beautiful boy with pale skin and silvery blond hair walking towards them.

"I would ask the same thing, Longbottom, but it seems you've found sport in punching our local celebrity."

Harry looked up at Draco and saw he was starting back at him. He had a very hard...stare. Harry blushed and looked back at Neville.

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Draco saw Harry run out of the Great Hall after a heated argument with that ginger and his girlfriend. Curious, Draco slowly started to get up, but stopped mid-squat thanks to ex-girlfriend, Parkinson. 

"Where are you going?" she asked, setting her spoon on the side of her bowl.

"Library," he lied. "There was an essay I forgot to write."

Pansy sighed. "Are you talking about the potions essay that was due weeks ago? I can help if you want."

Draco was confused. If this was her way of reconciling and getting back together, it was not appreciated. "No, different essay," was all he replied

"Well, when will you be back?" she asked.

"I won't be," he replied with an air of slight hostility. She muttered something to herself under her breath that he didn't quite catch, but didn't really care anyway. He turned around and slowly walked towards the doors of the Great Hall. Upon reaching the doors, he glanced at the Gryffindor table and saw that Ron Weasley was staring straight back at him with his eyebrows raised. No one else seemed to notice, but it was uncomfortable nonetheless. He broke the stare quickly and clumsily pushed open the doors before stumbling out.

The doors slammed shut loudly and Draco jumped slightly, not noticing raised voices just in front of him at first.

"You're an asshole, Potter," he heard someone say. Smiling at the fact that someone_ finally _agreed with him and also that he found Harry with little to no problems. He turned towards where he heard the voice and saw Harry lying on the floor, covered in blood, with Neville standing over him clenching his fist. Draco smirked, making no effort to conceal himself. He remained where he was, staring at Harry. His arm and face was covered with blood. His messy hair was sticking to his face; he looked so _vulnerable._

"What are _you_ doing here, Malfoy?" It seemed as if Neville finally noticed Draco. Draco, still smirking, walked towards the pair and and leaned against the stair bannister of the stairs that Neville was previously descending.

He replied to Neville's smart-ass question. "I would ask the same thing, Longbottom, but it seems you've found sport in punching our local celebrity." Draco looked at Harry to see he was staring back at him. His emerald eyes were glistening under the chandelier and Draco's heart was racing. All of a sudden. he found his lips to be extremely dry. He wet his lips, but Harry blushed and quickly broke the gaze, looking back at Neville who was staring at his fist.

_Probably still shocked,_ Draco thought, _that he was capable of doing anything with that hand besides wanking off._

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Christmas time is neeeeaaaarrr! (in real timez and in this timez) 


	7. Chapter 7

AN// Sigh...steamy(er) chapter. wow d00d. awesome. cool.

Harry reached up and touched Draco's hand. Before either of them knew what they were doing... SURPRISE BUTTSECKS! (jk guys)

Oh, one more thing, I guess this chapter has "strong language," but it doesn't really and...sexual themes, butttttt...I'm assuming that's why you're reading anything to do with Draco and Harry...? I could be wrong, but it's whatever.

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Draco took several more steps towards Neville. "You know, Longbottom, I don't think your grandmother would be very happy to hear about this," he said, motioning towards a limp Harry, still lying on the ground, looking at everything except for Draco.

"You leave my gran out of this!" Neville shouted, flailing his fists about. Neville ran up to Draco and looked as if he were about to punch him, but held back instead.

"What are you going to do?" Draco asked lazily. "Punch me?" Without waiting for Neville's response, Draco looked at Harry and said, "Get up, Potter."

Harry did as Draco said, still looking at the floor, slowly getting up, blushing and wiping the still dripping blood from his nose. Harry was still looking down, refusing to look at Malfoy.

Draco, still staring at Harry, waved his hand in the direction of Neville, motioning for him to leave. As if under the Imperius curse, Neville silently complied, turning around and promptly leaving.

Draco noticed that Harry was slowly walking toward the spot where Neville was previously standing just moments before. It looked as if Harry was about to say something to Neville, probably an agreement amongst the two boys to leave the hall.

Clearing his throat, Draco said, "Your friend isn't here." Startled, Harry looked up. He noticed the emptiness - noticed that the only people present were him and Draco. Harry's heart started racing, as did Draco's.

Acting on instinct, Harry immediately pulled out his wand (AN// obvious foreshadowings guyzz) and pointed it in Draco's face. That's obviously what you're _supposed_ to do when you catch yourself standing face-to-face with a Malfoy, right? "What are _you_ doing here?!" Harry demanded.

Draco was shocked and immediately reached for his wand as quickly as he could, but it was too late. Harry already had Draco pinned up against the wall with his wand pointing towards Malfoy's neck, making a sharp impression with the tip.

"Answer me!" Harry repeated a little more forcefully.

Draco responded with a slight choke and Harry loosened the grip. Draco's hands were sweaty and couldn't quite reach for his wand, but when he finally got grip of something that felt like wood, he realized it wasn't his wand at all; it was Harry's - and not the one in Harry's hand.

"What the fu-" Harry jumped back about three feet and let go of Draco, dropping his wand on the marble floor. Draco's eyes widened, but he didn't dare move even though Harry was now unarmed. Neither one of the boys said anything for quite some time, but the boy on the receiving end was the one to clear his throat and speak up first.

"What exactly do you think you're doing, you fucking faggot?!" Harry, standing almost as if he were paralyzed, could feel his hand forming into a fist. Again, there was a silence, but Harry didn't harp on about it. He could barely breathe; it felt as if his heart was pounding out of his chest.

Draco's face, paler than usual, was more horror-stricken than anything else. "I-I-I'm...sorry...?" he stammered. Harry merely looked at him and turned around as if to walk away, but before leaving, left these parting words for Draco: "You just haven't earned it yet, baby." And with that, he spun around, running up the stairs to his respected common room, two steps at a time.

Draco stared at Harry as he ran up the stairs, his eyes were wider than ever. His eyes were fixated on the spot where The Famous Boy Wizard had just been. He raised his "grabby hand" to his face to get a better look at it, as if it had some miracle response to his many questions about what Harry looked like under his robe...er...constant...publicity. Just then, he was interrupted by a rather loud grunt. He snapped his head around to see Goyle practically breathing down his neck.

"What do _you_ want?" Draco snapped, turning his whole body around to face Goyle.

"Pansy was asking about you in the Great Hall," he replied simply.

Draco rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, tell her I'll be right there."

Goyle looked down and nodded, looking at the floor. He slowly turned around and started walking towards the Great Hall.

"Oy, Ogre!" Draco shouted. Goyle stopped walking, but didn't respond. Draco continued and said, "Pansy and I aren't back together. You can have that self-defecating prat if you want her." Goyle turned around this time with a slight smile on his porky face.

"Okay," Goyle responded stupidly.

"One more thing," Draco added. "You're gonna wanna use protection. Trust me."

Goyle frowned and turned around again, walking towards the Great Hall, trying to figure out why he would need someone to protect him from Pansy. "_He's probably just worried about me,"_ he thought to himself.


	8. It's all in yr hands now

Alright, I haven't written anything in a while, but I don't want to if I suck sooo...it's up to you guys if I start up again.

Do you think I should? Message or comment me or whatever you want to say if I should continue of just give up.

kthx.


	9. Chapter 8

AN/ sorry this is so late guys. i know i was all "should i keep writing or not? blah?" but uh...i got...busy. with things. so here you go finally.

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Now, safely back in the common room, Harry still felt a slight tingling sensation around his boy bits. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling, and it wasn't completely unpleasurable either, but something felt wrong and Harry couldn't quite place his finger on it. As he continued thinking about it, all he could hear was the sound of the fire wood cracking in the fireplace. It surprised him that no one was back in the common room yet, but looking out the window, he noticed that it was snowing again. _Everyone's probably at Hogsmeade. Or making snow angels._ He slowly got to his feet and stretched out his arms. He quietly walked over to the window, wishing that he had a cup of hot chocolate to warm up his hands. _And Malfoy to warm up the rest of me._ He giggled at his new-found homosexual preferences, but quickly frowned at the fact that it was Malfoy that he was attracted to.

Plus, maybe he wasn't actually gay and just thought that he would try this out. It's not like anyone knew any gay wizards anyway. Maybe Dumbledore was. Just maybe. And just what did gay wizards do? Go after other gay wizards who don't exist? _What if Malfoy was gay? That would be funny. He's always wearing those tight pants under his robes._ Harry started chuckling to himself again.

Not doing anything else productive-wise, Harry felt the urge to revisit the hall where he was accosted not long before. He wasn't counting on the others to come running after him. Ron still looked pretty steamed. He pretty much just up and left them to their own devices in the Great Hall earlier. Harry walked briskly down from the Gryffindor Tower to the now all-too familiar hallway. As soon as he got there, he thought of Malfoy's breath on his neck. It was a very strange feeling, considering he didn't even think Malfoy was _that_ attractive. Well, maybe a little. But, he was too tall. Too pointy. Too pale. And he moved too fluidly - like he was floating instead of walking.

Harry didn't even know why he came down here. It wasn't like there was anything for him to do around here anyway. But, wait! A shimmer of hope? In between the cracks of the crown molding, Harry spotted something glimmering lodged between the old floorboards. He bent over and picked it up, only to realize that it was somebody's old necklace. He rolled his eyes and was content to just chuck it back on the ground, but he heard someone coming down the hall and he shoved it in his pocket.

He could've sworn he saw a flash of silver, but coming around the corner, he saw a flash of red instead and instantly knew who it was before he saw the face.

_Ginny._ He sighed and awaited any impending declarations of false love again.

She saw him and heaved a heavy sigh as she brought her hands to her chest. "Oh my goodness!" She ran up to him and threw her arms around him. "Are you okay? Neville came running into the Great Hall and said that Draco nearly _killed_ you!" she gushed.

Harry was confused. If Draco nearly killed anyone, it would've been Neville. And Neville was the one who punched Harry. As he remembered this, he started getting angrier and threw Ginny off of him. "Where is he?" he asked angrily.

"Draco? I don't know, sweetie. We haven't seen him since he left the Great Hall after you," she replied.

"No!" he spat. "I meant Ne--" He paused. "He ran after me?" he asked, much more subdued. This certainly sparked his interest.

"Yes!" she replied impatiently. "What did you do to him, Harry? Why is he after you?"

He ignored her questions and, through the fabric, clutched the necklace that he was holding in his pocket. Ginny was probably used to being ignored like this because she stopped harping on about it and shut up.

"Is everyone else still in there?" Harry asked, motioning towards the general direction of the Great Hall.

She nodded and bit her lip. Harry started walking back, but noticed that Ginny wasn't behind him as usual. He stopped and turned around. "Well, are you coming?"

Her face lit up and she ran to catch up with Harry. He genuinely smiled and placed his arm around her shoulders affectionately. She slipped her hand around his waist and they both went to meet their friends.

* * *

"Shit," Draco cursed under his breath. It seemed that he had lost his necklace, seeing as he couldn't find it on him anywhere. Frustrated, he rolled his eyes and sat down on the sofa in his common room. He still felt a slight tingling sensation on his hand. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling, and it wasn't completely unpleasurable either, but something felt wrong and Draco couldn't quite place his finger on it. As he continued thinking about it, all he could hear was the sound of the fire wood cracking in the fireplace.

He was so glad that Pansy hadn't come looking for him again. Goyle probably already moved in on her and suddenly Draco was thankful for Goyle's lustful desires. He wouldn't have to worry about them for a while. He thought about them going at it and he cringed slightly, but then the thought of him and Harry going at it came into focus and he felt much more at ease.

He pushed that image out of his mind for the time being and realized that his locket was _probably_ in that hallway where he accidentally groped Harry. He didn't even know why it mattered to him so much. He couldn't even open up the damn thing. It was so annoying and probably better that he lost it anyway. Nevertheless, he stood up and decided he would go down there.

He was walking down the stairs, whistling. He was in an unusually chipper mood. He was almost certain it was down here. He could just feel it, but when he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw that someone was already down there.

_Harry._

Before Harry even had a chance to notice he was there, Draco ducked behind a statue of Sir Yancey the Yodeler. He watched as Harry walked around seemingly purposeless. But then, he found the necklace and started fiddling with it. Ginny came out of nowhere and he put it in his pocket. She started accusing him of beating Harry up and then Harry showed interest that Draco ran after him. He didn't think it was _that_ obvious.

_Well, that's embarrassing,_ he thought to himself.

Ginny and Harry took off together and Draco stood up and stepped away from the statue. He was beginning to get a cramp in his leg from squatting and eavesdropping the whole time. So, now he knew that Potter had the locket. He could do two things: 1)steal it back or 2) ask for it back. If he asked for it back, it would be an excuse to talk to him again. He could _possibly_ apologize for any inappropriateness and hope for it to happen again.

He decided that that's what he was going to do.


End file.
